Murray Glynn from the School of Politics and International Relations shares with you his experience of studying in Hong Kong during his time at QMUL.
Murray (left)
I went to study in Hong Kong, which was probably the best thing I ever chose to do! It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to live in a city like Hong Kong when you’re not tied down to a permanent full-time job. You’re at university, but you get the opportunity to go travelling while you are out there, you have time to explore the city, and you can meet other people from around the world. It really pushed me to want to go and find out more, to travel more and to learn more about other cultures. It’s an opportunity I’d never want to pass up and if I had the chance to do it again and trade places with one of you guys then I would do it in a heartbeat.
Before my experience, I went along to a presentation on global opportunities at QMUL but I had no real intention of going – I originally just wanted to find out a bit more, since it was something that I’d never considered up to that point. The talk completely changed my mind and I knew that this was something I just had to do. I didn’t choose which university I wanted to attend and I left it quite open so I wouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t get the one I wanted. But, it was brilliant and I was so lucky to be given Hong Kong as a destination. I think Asia is one of the best places in the world to visit because there are so many opportunities to travel around. You’re not limited to one place and you have the opportunity to go to all of the neighbouring countries such as Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and even further afield to places like Australia. The opportunities are endless.
My time in Hong Kong definitely prepared me well academically. It was quite intense, having to study for five modules instead of four, so there was quite a lot of work involved. It helped me with final year at QMUL, since it was about the same workload as in Hong Kong and I didn’t feel as under pressure as I would have done had I not had this experience. It’s helped with job opportunities too, since a lot of places I’ve applied to like the idea of someone who’s been abroad and has that sort of experience of living within another culture and can bring that to a company as well. Many applications I’ve had feedback on have said that it’s a bonus in terms of my application.
My advice to you if you are thinking about living abroad is to just do it! If you don’t then you’ll regret it. Looking back, I think it was such an integral part of my academic and personal growth that I feel I couldn’t have done my degree without it.